The Forgotten Soldier
by SmashQueen
Summary: He's not moving anymore....


In _Ocarina of Time_, there is a soldier many pass by. This is a closer, more realistic, take on finding him.

Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrights to _The Legend of Zelda_. Nintendo, however, does.

* * *

He was pushed into the back alley by the screaming masses. People were running for their homes, crying out for loved ones, and giving the horde of attackers a wide berth while the invaders raced out of the Castle Town. Just moments ago he had climbed out of the river with the Ocarina of Time and ran into town with the echoing cries of it's inhabitants. A couple buildings were on fire and he was trying to deny the fact he had seen a body lying on the cobble streets, scarlet pooling around it.

His recurring nightmare had just come true and now it was getting worse.

The young Kokiri ran down the lane, nearly tripping over his own feet. He knew there wasn't any time to waste. Princess Zelda had entrusted him with the task of obtaining the Spiritual Stones and, now, the legendary Ocarina to help save Hyrule. He had come too far to stop, even if the wounds from his last major battle still ached.

"Hey! Come on!" cried his fairy, finally reemerging from under his cap, "We have to get to the Temple of Time!" Link growled, more to himself than to his companion,

"I know tha-" He stopped. He had rounded the corner and was close to getting out of the backstreets, but what he saw froze his heart and body. His mind was another matter, refusing to take in the sight that had left this section of the alleys deserted.

Blood. A good portion of the walls and ground was stained with it. Some rogue bandit in filthy rags lay facedown near some crates, a few slashes in his flesh seen through the tears of his garments. The gender was hard to guess unlike the dark-skinned woman lying some ways away against the wall to the Kokiri's left. A gaping hole in her stomach had allowed crimson to spill and soil her light clothing. Link averted his eyes from hers, still open in death. Across from her sat the form of a Hylian guard by some jugs. He still donned the traditional chainmail, chest plate, and helmet of one serving in the King. Head inclined, the young boy wasn't able to see the man's face.

Link leaned over and hurled. It hadn't even taken a moment for him to take everything in, but the image was more than enough to send his body into shudders. His stomach heaved, forcing out everything he had swallowed in the past day.

He may have had the courage to stand up to grotesque and fearsome monsters, but he still had the right to be horrified.

When all that escaped was bile, burning his throat worse than the smell of the lava he had found in Goron City, he considered heading back from where he had been pushed into the cramped and dirty lane. He wiped the back of his hand across his lips and spat out more of the stinging liquid in his mouth. Navi shook from where she hovered near his left shoulder.

"Let's go back...." she suggested, "There might be an easier way to the temple." Her words were trembling and it really would have been physically easier to keep going the way they were, but Link wasn't about to complain.

He began to move towards the front of the town when both he and Navi heard it.

"Unnngh...." It was male. The only male Link knew who was behind him was the guard. He whirled around, taking care not to peer over at the other bodies, and turned his full attention to the fallen soldier. There was a _tink_-ing as Navi zoomed over to the guard and inspected him. In almost no time she had returned to her partner's side.

"He's still alive! There's air coming from his nose!" Before she had even stopped speaking, Link was already dashing towards the man. By the time Navi caught up, the green-clad swordsboy was rummaging through his supplies, searching for something to aid the man. He had some red potion left from his trip through Jabu-Jabu, he just knew it! If it could heal the sort of injuries the shop keep had mentioned...

"Unnngh...." Link snapped his head up to face the soldier, ignoring the gashes that had somehow penetrated his shimmering armor. The man held out a hand to the Kokiri. "...are you the boy from the forest...?" Link nodded, keeping his eyes trained on the other's face. "I-I-I've finally met you..." stuttered the Hylian, "I-I-I have something to t-t-tell you..." He coughed and a trail of red dribbled down from the corner of his mouth. The smell of the surrounding blood was churning the child's gut again, but he kept his focus on what the guard had to say and what he was feeling around in his pouch for.

"Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves, betrayed our King..." Zelda had been right. No, that was the Spooky Mask. "Zelda's nanny, Impa, sensed danger and escaped from the castle with our Princess..." A talented woman. Gah! Just the Dodongo stomach bag. Where was-- "I tried to stop Ganondorf's men from chasing them...but..." The man spat up blood and Link's breathing hitched. He didn't want to acknowledge this.

But the growing sense of the inevitable made him have to.

The man kept going, the lad was silent.

"The Princess was...waiting for a boy from the forest...that's you..." He coughed again. Link stopped moving his hand around in his pouch. "She wanted to give something to the boy..." He should have been faster. If he had been faster Zelda would have gotten away quicker and this guard wouldn't be in front of him bleeding to de--

"If you received it from the Princess, hurry..." He drew in a breath of air though it sounded like was being filtered through water. "...to the Temple of Time...." The last words were slow, strained, and determined. The man's body spasmed, arching his back and clutching his outstretched hand before his form fell back to the wall. His head leaned to one side yet his eyes were still hidden underneath that helmet. Link merely stared at the nameless man, keeping as still as possible. The lad was breathing, he was aware of that much. He was also vaguely aware that his mouth was open as if to speak. Although the screams, the scent of death, the wind that allowed the heat of the nearby fires to reach him... None of it mattered. Navi's fluttering wings barely did either.

Because he had been too late. He was too late to save the Deku Tree, though the tree had said he was doomed before Link's quest had even started. He had been too late to reach Princess Zelda, once when the security of the castle had been tightened, making his visit short, and again when Ganondorf turned on the King. He was almost too late to save the Gorons, Ruto, and Jabu-Jabu, but the fact was that he was almost always one step behind.

And now someone was dead. Dead because he couldn't gather the Spiritual Stones fast enough. Dead because he decided to have some fun now and then in the wide world he had stepped out into beyond the Kokiri Forest.

Dead because of him. A little faster, maybe with one of those spring fairies, and the man could have possibly lived and--

"He's not moving anymore...." Navi had murmured it as low as she could, though Link had caught it.

Slowly, Link stood up. He peeked over at his pouch at the last item he had grabbed.

A glass bottle half-filled with red potion.

Silently, he tucked it back into his magic pouch and retied the bag to his side.

"Come on...." his fairy partner whispered, though it wasn't needed. Link walked out of the alley and numbly headed for the Temple of Time. As he grew closer, he began to run then sprint for all he was worth. Everything but the temple was a blur. He wasn't going to be late again. He was going to stop Ganondorf and makes things right.

And never again would he fail someone.


End file.
